Soybean Growers Pleased with Canada and Mexico Deal

The Administration’s announcement that it has reached an agreement with Canada, bringing a trilateral trade agreement including Mexico, is welcome news for soy growers.

The new deal was reached late Sunday (9/30) near the midnight deadline that was put in place by the U.S. Once approved by Congress, a finalized U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement will bring stability back to the North American markets.

Under NAFTA, U.S. soy exports to Canada and Mexico were almost $3 billion in 2017, and U.S. soy exports to Mexico have grown four-fold under the agreement. Mexico is now the second largest export market for U.S. soybeans and meal. Additionally, roughly $43 billion of agriculture products are exported to Canada and Mexico every year.

The new deal, dubbed USMCA, will help stabilize the U.S.’s two neighboring export markets for growers, something that the American Soybean Association (ASA) has been requesting of the Administration.

And, this news follows last week’s announcement that the U.S. had signed a new free trade agreement with Korea and that negotiations are in progress with Japan.

The soybean harvest is huge this year. And there was a major uncertainty with the markets due to China trade issues. All of the positive news on the new deals with other countries is very timely and welcomed.